Bullet and Gill Nets Blamed in Deaths of Three Sea Lions

Nearly three weeks after the carcasses of 49 California sea lions mysteriously began washing ashore on Orange County beaches, federal biologists Wednesday have determined that at least one sea lion had been shot and two died in gill nets used by halibut fishermen.

In a necropsy completed Wednesday on the body of a young 350-pound male sea lion, biologists retrieved a .30-caliber bullet that penetrated the animal’s abdomen and killed him. It was the first piece of solid evidence that one of the animals had been illegally shot, said Jim Lecky, chief of the National Marine Fisheries protected species branch.

And, in two other sea lion deaths, biologists reported that they found a net peculiar to halibut fishing wrapped around one carcass, while the neck and shoulder of another sea lion bore the markings of a halibut net, Lecky said.

From that evidence and their knowledge of coastal fisheries, federal officials now believe that most of the Orange County sea lions died after encounters with fishermen--either as they became entangled in gill nets and drowned, or were shot by squid fishermen protecting their catch from a marauding sea lion.

“We are pretty much calling a conclusion to this investigation because we are pretty sure what’s going on,” Lecky said.

Lecky said at this point there are no witnesses, so no criminal charges are planned. He added that since the sea lion is not an endangered species and the deaths are a small percentage of the population, no special surveillances are scheduled.

But fishermen from San Clemente to San Pedro denied they were to blame for most of the deaths.

“No gill-netter is blatantly going away and killing sea lions,” said gill net fisherman John (The Turk) Emirzian, 50. “Probably several things are killing them.”

Don Hansen, a director of the California Sportsfishing Assn, some of whose members hunt squid, said: “Most operators just don’t do that anymore (shoot sea lions to keep them away from their catch). Trouble is the public is quick to point fingers.”

Federal and private biologists said Wednesday that they had ruled out disease as a primary cause for the deaths because all but two of the sea lions were dead when they hit the shore. If they were diseased or malnourished, sea lions usually struggle to the shore alive, the biologists say.